Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Before her retirement, Vivieca Wright Simpson had been with VA for 32 years. Peter O'Rourke, the director of VA's new Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, will serve as VA's permanent chief of staff going forward.
The Veterans Affairs Department has about a year to get its appeals process off the ground. Congress and GAO are concerned VA doesn't have the tools ready to meet that deadline.
Construction of a new Veterans Affairs hospital in Aurora, Colorado, is 98 percent complete. But lawmakers are still frustrated that VA will have to keep the existing medical center open for another three-to-five years.
The House has included an additional $2.1 billion for the Veterans Choice Program in a continuing resolution, which would extend funding for civilian agencies through Jan. 19, 2018.
The Veterans Affairs Department is expected to run out of funding in the VA Choice Program by the end of 2017. VA Secretary David Shulkin called on lawmakers to find some solution by year-end, even if it's a temporary one.
The Senate stays silent on a pay raise for federal employees in its 2018 appropriations bill, meaning civilian workers are closer to a 1.9 percent boost next year.
Details on funding for the new program are still largely unclear. VA, however, believes administrative changes to the current Veterans Choice Program will save billions of dollars over 10 years.
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) said the legislation he recently introduced that sets up a BRAC-style commission to review medical facilities at the Veterans Affairs Department marks the beginning of a long conversation on the topic.
As Congress will soon resume debates over the future of the Veterans Choice Program, the American Federation of Government Employees is urging lawmakers to consider consequences of privatization.
Surveys and feedback are a key part of the Veterans Affairs Department's customer experience strategy and its plan to expand telehealth services.
The House passed a last-minute bill Friday morning that will replenish the Veterans Choice Program with $2.1 billion in additional funds for the next six months. The additional Choice funds are crucial, as they buy lawmakers and the Veterans Affairs Department more time to redesign the program. But the legislation is also packed with new hiring flexibilities.
The House will vote this week on a bill that would replenish the Veterans Choice Fund with an additional $2 billion. But to offset the costs, VA would continue to collect housing loan fees and would trim pensions for some veterans living in nursing facilities that are covered under Medicaid.
Slew of bills helping the Veterans Affairs Department shows how much Congress can get done within a limited scope.
The Veterans Affairs Department spends too much money on bricks and mortar and not enough on its own doctors and nurses, former VA Secretary Anthony Principi told Congress. Some lawmakers are once again calling for a full review of VA capital assets, which span encompass more than 6,000 owned buildings and 1,500 leased facilities and span more than 170 million square feet.